If the Shoes Fit

by Pauline Lawless

  Chapter 26

  Tessa had heard nothing from George since she’d left a week ago and she wondered how he was coping.

  “Not your problem any more,” Kate told her when she rang to see how Napoleon and Kilkenny were settling in, “but he seems to be okay.”

  They decided that she would move the rest of her stuff to Kate’s spare bedroom as it would be some months before she would have her own place. This meant that she had to ring George to arrange to pick it up. She was dreading talking to him as she was afraid that he might ask her to go back, but he did no such thing.

  “Hello, George, Tessa here. How are you?” Silence! “I’d like to come and collect my things on Saturday, if that’s okay with you.” She was trying to keep her voice from breaking.

  “That’s fine.” Click . . . he’d hung up on her. What the hell?

  She was in such a state on Saturday morning that Amber insisted on driving down with her. She dreaded coming face to face with George. She needn’t have worried. The house was empty. He was nowhere to be seen. She sighed with relief but felt sad that it had come to this. They piled her stuff into Amber’s car and just about got it all in. She took one last look around the lovely old house and then left the key on the hallstand.

  “Another chapter in my life closed,” she said sadly.

  Val was getting on Niamh’s nerves.

  As promised, she had arranged to go out with her for a day, to help her interview potential representatives. Val had arrived at Bridget’s on the morning in question wearing a low-cut sweater and a mini-skirt.

  “For God’s sake, Val, you’re going out to interview women,” Niamh had said, exasperated. “That is no way to dress. You’ll only alienate them. Have you no cop-on? Here, take this and cover up!” She’d thrown a sweater at her and Val meekly had done as she was told.

  It had been a successful outing and Niamh had signed up six reps for her. Two days later, Val wanted her to go out again.

  “Val, I showed you how to do it. You have to do it yourself some time,” Niamh said crossly. “I need every moment I can get, to work my own business. I don’t have enough hours in the day as it is, what with the kids and Gav to look after as well.”

  Val was annoyed with her. “Well, the least you can do is to help me put up the stuff on the computer. I haven’t a clue,” she nagged.

  Niamh sighed but agreed to help her.

  Things were much better since she’d set up her office at her mother’s. She had managed to persuade her mother to accept payment for her baby-sitting and the arrangement suited everybody concerned. Without Bridget standing over her, and knowing that the kids were happy, Niamh could get through the paperwork in no time at all. She was very much more organised.

  Sharon had turned out to be a gem. She was doing all the deliveries now, by herself, thus giving Niamh more time to recruit. She now had fifty-two reps and her bank balance was growing daily. She couldn’t resist going online to open her account every night, enjoying the thrill as she saw the figure going higher and higher.

  The only fly in the ointment was Gav. She was very disappointed with the lack of support from him. He thought it was enough that he was allowing her to do it without actually having to help out. She’d hoped that when he saw the money coming in, he might become more supportive and of course there was always the possibility of the car. She’d tried to get him to agree to baby-sit once a week so that she could hold parties. He baby-sat the night she’d held a party for Andy’s wife, Bree, but she knew he’d done it to please Andy and not her. He still steadfastly maintained that he couldn’t commit himself to any baby-sitting.

  They’d started rowing over money again. Not the lack of it, this time, but the fact that she wouldn’t spend it. Very early on, Gavin had asked her to buy him a leather jacket. When she’d refused, telling him she wouldn’t touch the money, not even to buy a pair of tights, let alone a leather jacket, he’d stormed out. It was for their future home, she’d explained. Next, he’d pleaded with her to give him the money to go with the guys to Manchester to see his favourite team play.

  “No, Gav, we’re not touching this money until we have the deposit for our house,” she’d told him.

  He’d sulked for days after this exchange. She’d been very tempted to tell him that if he’d get a job, he could afford to go, but she bit her tongue. He didn’t get it – he didn’t understand how badly she wanted them to have a home of their own. She worried that he was showing no sign of growing up. She couldn’t understand it. Then she came up with a great idea. She’d had requests from Sharon and Bree’s friends for parties but she needed a baby-sitter to allow her to do this. Bridget wouldn’t hear of a stranger coming into her house to baby-sit so Niamh decided on a strategy. She knew how much Gav wanted to go to see Man. United play so she sat him down and put her proposal to him.

  “If you will agree to baby-sit two evenings a week,” she told him, “I’ll give you the money to go to Manchester. How does that sound?” She had her fingers crossed, hoping he’d agree, but not letting him see how much she wanted him to.

  He considered it, but only for a moment.

  “Okay, babe. Deal,” he said, beaming at her.

  She let her breath out slowly – unaware that she’d been holding it. She’d make the money for his trip in one party but she wouldn’t let him know that. Anything else she earned from these parties would go into “House Account”. They were both happy!

  Rosie regretted that she hadn’t learned about computers years ago. It was fantastic. It had opened up a whole new world to her. David had sent her the money to buy herself a new laptop for Christmas. It was extremely generous of him but, as he put it, it would benefit him too as it meant she could email him in Australia – every day if she so wished. He mentioned something about Skyping – but that was a little beyond her at the moment. She had just got the hang of emailing. First thing every morning, she rushed to the computer and it was also the last thing she did every night before she retired. It was miraculous.

  Hugo, the nice man in her computer class, emailed her regularly, as practice for them both. It was amazing how a relationship could flourish through emailing. Somehow, it was easier than talking to someone and she found herself telling him things she’d never told another soul. She shared her feelings of grief and depression with him and he told her that she was helping him with his own grief. They sat together at the coffee break every night at the course. It was all very pleasant and easy.

  She’d also discovered the internet and couldn’t believe how much information she could get by Googling. It was exhilarating. Hugo had explained how they could play bridge via the internet. She’d thought he was joking. Could you believe it!

  “Maybe you’d be interested in taking it up again. I need a partner and so do you, so how about it?” he’d asked her.

  “Let me practise online first and then we’ll give it a go.”

  “Fine,” he’d replied, smiling.

  He’d also mentioned something called eBay that he found great.

  “Let me tackle the bridge first!” she’d laughed.

  Gail was delighted with her mother’s new interest and received regular “please help” phone calls during the first days of the computer but they were coming less and less frequently.

  Eileen’s phone rang. It was Val.

  “Hi, Mam. I need a favour. I want to come back home and move into Niamh’s old room. Keith and I are finished.”

  Eileen couldn’t believe it. Val knew that Niamh was now using it as an office. Did she expect her to turf Niamh out?

  “Not possible, Val. You know Niamh is using it.”

  “Mam, this is an emergency,” she cried. “Keith has moved another girl in. I can’t stay there.”

  “Well, you can’t stay here either, Val. I just don’t have the room. Have you no friend you can go to?”

  “No,” Val sniffled.

  Eileen was adamant. She was enjoying the children so much and it was lovely havin
g Niamh around every day too. She was not going to renege on her agreement with Niamh. The poor kid needed all the support that she could give her.

  “No, Val,” Eileen insisted. “You’ll just have to find somewhere else. That’s final.”

  Val couldn’t believe her ears. She’d been sure that her mother would welcome her back with open arms, but no – Niamh again! Everything revolves around her, she thought viciously.

  She had to leave Keith’s. No question about it! She’d arrived home yesterday to find him in bed with a young chick, both of them stoned out of their minds. He hadn’t batted an eye when she’d walked in on him.

  “Babe, either pack your bags and go, or join me and Chelsea here in bed,” he’d said, moving over to make room for her.

  Chelsea had thought this was hilarious and had laughed so much that she fell out of the bed. Keith had rolled out after her.

  “Nah, she’s not my type. Too old,” Chelsea had sniggered, rolling about on the floor. She didn’t look any older than sixteen.

  Val grabbed the wine bottle that they’d been drinking from and poured it over them both, to shrieks of laughter from Chelsea who tried to catch it in her mouth.

  “I take it you’re leaving then. Leave your key before you go,” Keith had said, turning his back on her as he started to snog Chelsea who was still writhing on the floor. Val flung the key at him, hitting him on the head with it. It gave her some satisfaction. And now here she was, homeless, and her own mother wouldn’t take her in. She had no one else she could ask – Val had never been big into girl-friends.

  In desperation, she rang Phoebe and asked if she could stay with her, explaining the situation.

  “Okay darling, but only for a few nights till you get somewhere permanent,” Phoebe said, somewhat reluctantly.

  That would have to do.

  She took a taxi to the address Phoebe had given her as it was way out in the sticks. From the way Phoebe talked, Val expected a beautiful big house set in its own grounds. What she found was quite different – a small terraced house in a council estate, surrounded by hundreds of similar small houses. Typical, Phoebe with her big talk and her big ideas – I should have guessed, Val thought disconsolately.

  “Welcome, darling,” Phoebe gushed, air-kissing Val on both cheeks. “Let me introduce you to my beautiful daughter, Talika.”

  Talika – what kind of a name is that? Val wondered, shaking hands with a shy sixteen-year-old girl who could not, by any stretch of the imagination, be called beautiful. The poor kid was blushing like mad, obviously mortified by her mother’s description of her. Val felt sorry for her. Imagine having a mother like Phoebe!

  She was shown to her room which was so small that you couldn’t have swung a mouse in it, let alone a cat. Well, she should be grateful, she supposed, but it was obvious that she couldn’t stay here for long. She’d have to think of something.

  Pete had hoped that Amber would ring him after their night out but she didn’t. He couldn’t get her out of his mind. There was something about her. He wondered if it was because she’d spurned him, which had come as quite a shock to him. It was not something he experienced often with women. God, maybe Tim was right. He’d rung Tim and told him how he was feeling about Amber.

  “I knew someone would finally reel you in,” Tim had laughed. “It’s called love,” he’d added, still laughing.

  “Whatever it’s called,” Pete said forlornly, “I just can’t stop thinking about her.”

  “What about the other girl – Lesley, wasn’t it?” Tim asked. “What’s happening with her?”

  “Oh, we’re not involved,” Pete said dismissively. “It’s just a sexual relationship.”

  “Does she know that?” Tim wanted to know. Pete could be so blind sometimes, not seeing when women were falling in love with him.

  “I’m sure she does,” he replied.

  When he’d come off the phone Pete thought about what Tim had said. Lesley was beginning to get on his nerves. He’d had to turn off his mobile because she was calling him so often. Then she started texting him – morning, noon and night. She had this fixation about seeing his apartment but the last thing he wanted to do was take her there. He’d done that once before with a married woman and her husband had arrived on his doorstep a week later, threatening to cut off his goolies. Luckily, he’d managed to calm him down and they’d ended up getting drunk together but he’d learnt his lesson. No more women – especially attached women – in his pad. Now Amber was something else. He’d have her there anytime.

  He called her and asked her out to dinner. He was as nervous as a teenager dialling her number. She sounded warm and friendly on the phone but she refused to see him.

  “Thanks, Pete, but honestly, I’m up to my eyes at the moment,” she said. “Business is just fantastic. I’m having parties almost every night now.”

  “I hope you’re not mad at me about the coming-up-for-coffee mix-up,” he stammered.

  “Of course not!” Her voice tinkled with laughter.

  God, she sounded delicious! He really wanted to see her again. He sent her a bouquet of white roses and freesia the next day. He missed her call, thanking him, but listened a dozen times at least to the message she’d left. Bloody Lesley! If it wasn’t for her, he’d have had his phone on. He would see Amber at the sales meeting the following week and he couldn’t wait. He hoped Lesley wouldn’t cause any problem. He’d have to cool it there but at the same time he didn’t want to antagonise her. Maybe he should take her out again before the meeting – as an insurance against trouble.

  Chapter 27

  Carlo and Amber had their first date the following Tuesday. He took her to the famed King Sitric restaurant in Howth where they ate delicious fresh fish, beautifully cooked. Amber was a little nervous at first, not least because she found Carlo so attractive, but he put her at her ease straight away. She sipped the delicious Chablis wine slowly, terrified of getting drunk. She fancied him so much that she was afraid of how she might behave if she did get drunk.

  He was a charming, interesting companion and she had a great time. When he drove her home, he took her hand and kissed it, thanking her for a lovely evening. She was disappointed that it wasn’t more than that. She was afraid that he didn’t find her attractive after all, while she fancied him more than ever.

  He’d been a perfect gentleman all evening and she had to admit that Tessa was right about him. He was a lovely guy. Unfortunately, she thought that he probably wouldn’t ask her out again. Maybe that was just as well. That meant no complications, no heartbreak.

  They all gathered in the Portmarnock Country Club Hotel the following day, for their first sales meeting together. They had been operating for just one month. Grace and Carlo hugged them all and looked very pleased indeed. Pete couldn’t take his eyes off Amber. She looked stunning. Her eyes were glowing and she seemed happy and vibrant as she laughed and chatted with the girls. Carlo was aware of this too.

  Pete had his work cut out for him, trying to avoid Lesley’s gaze. They’d spent Monday night together and though the sex was as good as ever, somehow his heart wasn’t in it. Lesley had felt his despondency and kept asking him what the problem was.

  “Just leave it, for Christ’s sake,” he’d snapped at her, leaving her sulking for over an hour. He would definitely have to cool it after this.

  The meeting started and Grace rose to address them. Smiling broadly, she welcomed them all.

  “It’s hard to believe that it’s only a month since we last met and even harder to believe that you have made such a success of the business in such a short time,” she told them. “Your sales are truly amazing and have exceeded our wildest dreams.”

  Carlo and Pete nodded their agreement, beaming broadly as they applauded the girls.

  Grace then gave a PowerPoint presentation on the sales to date and they all agreed that they were quite staggering. The girls gasped at the figures and looked at each other, grinning happily. There was a buzz and excitem
ent in the air that was almost tangible.

  “Some of you have done better than others, of course,” Grace paused.

  She then broke the figures down and went through each woman’s sales, individually. It was obvious that although Amber and Lesley had done extremely well and Tessa and Rosie to a lesser extent, Niamh was way ahead of them all. When her sales were exhibited on the screen, there was a collective gasp and as Amber, Tessa and Rosie hugged her she blushed to the roots of her pretty auburn hair.

  Val was fuming. There she goes again! Everyone’s pet. The fact that Niamh had done it all through sheer effort was lost on her. Phoebe shrugged, as if to say “It doesn’t bother me”, although her sales were pathetic and the lowest of all. Lesley clapped politely but was furious. She really had thought she would be top, as she had poached many of her previous reps from the cosmetic company she’d worked for, which had given her a head start. What was absolutely galling was the fact that Amber had beaten her too and Pete was now smiling and kissing them both on the cheeks. Ooohhh! She could barely contain her jealousy. Tessa noticed her narrowed eyes and taut lips. If looks could kill, poor Niamh and Amber would both be dead.

  After the congratulations were over Grace turned to Niamh.

  “Well, that’s certainly a very impressive start, Niamh,” she said, smiling at the young girl. “I wonder if you wouldn’t mind saying a few words, telling us how you managed it? I’m sure we’d all like to learn the secret of your success. Will you share it with us?”

  Niamh blushed again and shyly stood up in front of them. She started hesitantly but seeing how interested the others were, she soon relaxed. Her green eyes were sparkling as she spoke and Pete thought that she had never looked prettier.

  Lesley was green with envy but she wanted to know how Niamh had achieved such sales so she listened politely, hoping to pick up some tips. Hesitantly at first, Niamh told them how she was operating. However, she gained in confidence as she went on and was amazed to discover when she’d finished that she’d spoken for almost half an hour. She stressed the importance of recruiting good representatives and told them of the little incentives she had devised for hers.